How to Use Your Healing Power (1957) by Dr. Joseph Murphy explains the inner meaning of the healing miracles of the New Testament. Through the analysis of Biblical stories, Dr. Murphy illuminates how the reader can apply these same healing principles to their own lives.
Joseph Murphy (b. 1898, d. 1981) was born in Ireland in 1898 to a private boys’ school headmaster father. Raised Roman Catholic, he first thought he would become a Catholic priest and enrolled in a Jesuit seminary while also studying chemistry. But by his late teen years, he began to question Catholic orthodoxy. While he was ordained a priest, it didn’t take long for him to leave the priesthood.
Eager to explore new ideas, he emigrated to the United States in 1922 and earned a living as a pharmacist. It was here that he was introduced to New Thought at New York City’s Church of the Healing Christ.
Upon the outbreak of World War, Murphy brought his expertise in pharmacology to the war effort. And after the war, he further sought spiritual answers, learning Hindu philosophy in India and taking university courses.
Upon his return to the United States, Murphy relocated to Los Angeles and became part of the thriving New Thought community there. He began writing prolifically, releasing over 30 books on spirituality between the 1940s and 1980s. He also earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Southern California in the 1950s.
Murphy was ordained into Religious Science and later into Divine Science. He became minister of the Los Angeles Divine Science Church and turned it into a thriving ministry, gathering large crowds at the nearly 1, 300-seat Wilshire Ebell Theatre to share his message.
One of those lectures was on the topic of the healing miracles of Jesus Christ, which he later expanded on and turned into How to Use Your Healing Power.
This work explores the power of spiritual awareness to fight mental disorders. As Dr. Murphy explains, ‘All demons or devils are negative states of mind that have been developed because the creative power of man has been used in an ignorant and destructive manner. The work of every man is to…through spiritual awareness cast out of his own mind the false theories, dogmas, beliefs, opinions, as well as all negative states such as resentment, ill will, hatred, jealousy, etc.’
The mind can also heal physical ailments as well as the mental, as we see in the stories of Simon’s mother-in-law in Mark and Luke, and the healing of the leper in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. For healing of the body, Dr. Murphy writes, ‘…withdraw mentally from symptoms and evidence of senses and begin to think of God’s Healing Presence within you.’ Through a sense of calm, inner reflection, and prayer, Dr. Murphy avers that individuals can heal themselves and their loved ones.
Dr. Murphy’s writings present an interesting amalgamation of New Thought spirituality and science. Drawing on a mind-body connection that is still not entirely understood, he presents an uplifting view of the Biblical word. While he was trained in both scripture and psychology, he uses clear language that the layperson can easily understand.
According to Dr. Murphy, ‘The Bible is a psychological textbook which teaches us how to overcome all problems. It explains how we get into trouble; then teaches us how to get out of trouble.’ With the healing power innate in all of humanity, we can heal what ails us.
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